Chairmen Conyers, Reyes Introduce FISA Revision Legislation

Chairmen Conyers, Reyes Introduce FISA Revision Legislation
October 9th, 2007 by Jesse Lee

From the Judiciary Committee:

Conyers, Reyes Introduce FISA Revision Legislation

(Washington, DC) – Today, House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) and Intelligence Committee Chairman Silvestre Reyes (D-TX) introduced The Responsible Electronic Surveillance that is Overseen, Reviewed, and Effective Act of 2007 – the “RESTORE Act,” in an effort to address concerns about civil liberty protections in the hastily-enacted “Protect America Act” that was signed into law in early August. The RESTORE ACT restores court oversight of intelligence gathering by requiring that electronic surveillance programs be approved by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) Court, mandating that FISA warrants be obtained when the government wants to undertake surveillance of persons in the US, and authorizing continued oversight of programs by the Court, Congress, and independent auditors.

“I am proud to have introduced the RESTORE Act with Intelligence Committee Chairman Sylvestre Reyes,” stated Conyers. “Earlier this year, President Bush signed a short-term surveillance law that exposed innocent Americans’ phone calls and emails to warrantless intrusion. Speaker Pelosi immediately asked us to fix this problem and to ensure court oversight while preserving our ability to fight against foreign threats. This bill shows that it is possible to protect civil liberties and fight terrorism at the same time.”

“This legislation provides the Intelligence Community with strong tools to track down terrorists, weapons proliferators, and spies. But it also protects the civil liberties of Americans and requires stronger oversight by Congress. I am proud to introduce the RESTORE Act today with my colleague Chairman Conyers.”

The Protect American Act’s (PAA) broad authority, as well as programs that allowed the government to collect a broad range of intelligence information about Americans without court approval, raised grave civil liberties concerns. The RESTORE Act improves the PAA by providing a series of checks and balances while still allowing maximum flexibility. It does not require individual warrants when targets are reasonably believed to be abroad, but it is firm that a FISA warrant is required to obtain communications of people in the United States. The RESTORE Act settles that FISA is the exclusive means of electronic surveillance and that no modifications can be made without express legal authorization. The new bill will also provide additional resources for the National Security Agency and Department of Justice to ensure that there are no backlogs of critical intelligence gathering. Audits by the Office of the Inspector General, including an initial audit that will cover previous warrantless surveillance programs conducted by the Bush Administration, will provide ongoing independent oversight and review.

“This bill provides what the Director of National Intelligence and Assistant Attorney General for National Security told us they needed – a means to acquire information from telecommunications companies about physical threats to the Nation in which the target is overseas,” said Conyers. “They testified that they do not want warrantless access to spy on American businesses, hospitals, and libraries, so we are taking them at their word and making it crystal clear that a FISA court order is required to access Americans’ communications.”

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